Drama continues to follow the Jets like a stalker.
One day after coach Rex Ryan’s foot-fetish sideshow, the spotlight yesterday shifted to another body part — Mark Sanchez’s sore right shoulder, which now might force him out Sunday’s critical game in Chicago and leave ancient Mark Brunell as the starting quarterback.
That is, if Ryan isn’t throwing the media a green herring to distract attention from Foot-Fetish-Gate — because the coach was the only guy yesterday speaking so gloomily about Sanchez.
“This could be more of a game-time type decision than I thought it would be,” Ryan said, downgrading Sanchez’s chances of starting to 80 percent from Wednesday’s 99.
“I think I underestimated where he was with that injury. He’s sore. He’s got a sore shoulder, no question about it. But I thought he would have been ready to go if we had to play [Wednesday]. I talked to [head trainer] John Mellody, and he said he wouldn’t be able to go. I misspoke.”
Sanchez suffered what’s being called a slight cartilage tear Sunday in Pittsburgh. He fell awkwardly on the shoulder on a sack on the Jets’ second offensive series. He played the rest of the game and delivered one of his best performances of the season — but has been limited in practice this week.
With Sanchez still ailing, the quarterback duties might fall to the 40-year-old Brunell, who has thrown only 31 passes since 2006.
That’s troubling news as the Jets look to lock up a playoff berth — even though Ryan predictably put a positive spin on the worst-case scenario yesterday.
“I feel comfortable with Mark Brunell, I absolutely do,” Ryan said.
“We’re not talking about a guy that never did it in his career. This guy has done it all. He was a Pro Bowl quarterback. Is he as good as he was back then? No. If he was, he’d be our starting quarterback.”
The Jets would lock up a playoff berth this week with a win in Chicago, a loss by the Colts in Oakland, or a loss by the Jaguars at home against the Redskins. A win against Buffalo next week would also lock it up.
The fact that Sanchez finished the Steelers game is what left Ryan so certain he’d be good to go for the Bears.
“Today, I could tell he was a little sore,” Ryan said. “We threw more with him today [than on Wednesday], and he never really had the zip on it.
“I guess I was expecting a little more zip. I jumped to the conclusion [he would be fine], because I based it on how he finished the [Pittsburgh] game. He was playing great.
“He was flying around and upbeat [in Wednesday’s practice]. Then we got to today and I was like, ‘Whoa, if he can’t throw any better than this, zip it more than this, I’m not going to put the kid out there if he’s that sore.’
“He’s got to improve before we’re going to be comfortable with him going out there as a starting quarterback,” Ryan went on. “Do we think he will? We do. We do think he’ll be better.”
Ryan seemed to be the only person who was sounding alarms about Sanchez.
Far be it from us to sniff out a conspiracy on the part of Ryan and the Jets to divert the flood of attention on Ryan’s “personal matter” by putting an overly dramatic spin on Sanchez’ status, but …
From offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to the offensive players who were on the field in practice, they all thought Sanchez, who took most of the reps, looked fine.
“Watching him throw, I thought he looked very good,” Schottenheimer said.
When pressed about Ryan’s less-confident assessment, Schottenheimer reasoned, “I saw what Rex was reacting to. Early in practice he was trying to get loose. His play progressed as practice went on.”
Players didn’t see Sanchez laboring.
“I thought he was fine,” LaDainian Tomlinson said. “From my standpoint I thought he looked pretty good.”
Receiver Jerricho Cotchery said he thought Sanchez throwing lightly was the trainers’ way of resting his shoulder.
Sanchez, who’s made available to reporters only on Wednesdays and game days, was adamant after Wednesday’s practice that he’ll play Sunday.
“I expect Mark to answer the call,” Schottenheimer said. “He’s tough and he knows the importance of this game.”